Fractions to decimals

You may have three choices when changing fractions to decimals. The method you use depends on circumstances and/or what you are trying to accomplish.

If you are in a hurry to get an answer, then the easiest and fastest way is to use a calculator provided that you have one in your possession and you are allowed to use one.

Example #1:

Suppose you want to convert 3/50 to a decimal. Just hit the buttons 3, ÷, 50 , and = in that order on the calculator. You can then just read off the answer as 0.06.

Changing fractions to decimals by looking for an equivalent fraction that change the denominator to a power of ten.

Suppose you do not have a calculator or you are not supposed to use one. Then I think this is the next easiest way to convert fractions to decimals since it is relatively easy to change the denominator to a power of ten in many cases.

Power of 10 means that your denominator will look something like 10, 1000, 10000, and so forth… 

Let us illustrate this method with three examples.

Example #2

Change 3/50 to a decimal

Notice that 50 was multiplied by 2 to get 100. Just remember that whatever you do for your denominator, you have to do it for your numerator.

Example #3

Change 2/5 to a decimal

Example #4

Change 4/125 to a decimal

Notice here that 125 was multiplied by 8 to get 1000 because 125 × 8 = 1000

Therefore, when doing those problems, one of the big challenges is to find the number that you need to multiply the denominator to get 10, 1000, 10000, and so forth

You can find it by doing division. For instance 1000/125 = 8 

If you do not have a calculator, then you could also perform long division.

This is my least favorite method because long division can be hard and time consuming.

Example #5:

Convert 3/50 by performing long division